Hey Gang, Jane Back today with the Standing Double Crochet Technique that will help you make joining your colours a little more enjoyable and a little smoother.
Today I’m going to share an easy and effective alternative to starting a double crochet round, without having that awkward chain 3 hanging out at the beginning of your round.
If you’re looking to explore more captivating color combinations for your squares, hop on over to my Instagram and Pinterest. I love sharing lots of pics of my colour experiments there!
I love to work with alot of colour in my pieces, so I am always joining new colours, in fact if you have been following my granny squares, I love to join new colours every round. When it comes to starting with a double crochet, the standard and most popular method is a chain 3, and the purpose for that is to get your starting stitch up to right level and height of the stitches that are to follow it.
I also like to add alot of chain spaces into my designs, so sometimes that ch 3 can become a ch 4 or 5, if my pattern calls for spaces between my double crochets. The longer the chain, the more noticeable it becomes.
This alternative I will be showing you today is called a standing double crochet and it really is simple and satisfying to work.
The Standing Single Crochet
You may have seen one of my recent tutorials I created on a version of the standing single crochet. The version that I do does not have a slip knot like some do, as I like to avoid knots if possible. So I start the standing single crochet version just by simply wrapping the yarn around the hook. Well this standing double crochet works pretty much the same way.
More Information on Hooks Sizes, Yarn Weights and Crochet Language
Hook Sizes see the Craft Yarn Council’s Page Here
For Standard Yarn Weight Information See this Page
A Handy PDF from Annie’s on the difference between UK and US Crochet Terms
A Nice Explanation from LoveCraft’s on The UK and US differences
Chain 3 Start – Old Version
Let’s start by looking at the Chain 3 option which most of you probably use, as it really is the most common. It simply is 3 chains that act as your first double crochet to bring the yarn up to height for the double crochet stitches that will follow.
But when you look at the overall round when it is finished, it can stand out, or simply through off your eye, by being different than all the other stitches.
Standing Double Crochet
Now we take a look at the standing double crochet stitch, this one looks just like a regular double crochet, and it serves the same purpose of bringing the yarn up to the right height. Then when you look at a full round of double crochet, it doesn’t stand out and blends right in with the other double crochet stitches.
Standing Double Crochet – Basics
The best way to learn this is to scroll down and watch the step by step video tutorial below, where I will slowly walk you through the process.
However, the trick is basically that you loop the yarn twice over the hook BEFORE you put it into the stitch, thus skipping the need to join and chain 3.
Once you have two wraps around the hook, then you insert the hook into the stitch and complete the double crochet as normal.
NOTE: be sure to hold the cut end of the yarn secure so it doesn’t unravel, AND DO NOT work over it at this time. It is very important that the yarn is allowed to stay up at the top of this first stitch. If you were to work over it, it would create an extra loop down the right side of your stitch and look messy and confusing.
Scroll down and Watch the Tutorial below and I will explain how the stitch unravels and how to prevent this from happening.
Standing Double Crochet
This is really a game changer for your colour work. It is simple and easy to master and you will find you use it in all your projects.
There are times the Chain 3 will work better, but I have alternatives for that as well. More tutorials to come for those.
This video tutorial will walk you through the Basics, step by step of the Standing Double Crochet Method
Check out my Shop where I regularly release new patterns using all my squares.
All shop patterns include a symbol chart version of the square as well as various colour way diagrams
Thanks for joining me and getting creative.
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
